State: Northborough man had history of illegally importing trash

A Northborough man accused of running an illegal dump on Whitney Street has a history of similar offenses in other towns and has cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors allege in documents recently filed in Worcester District Court.

By Brad Petrishen/Daily News staff

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Brad Petrishen/Daily News staff

Posted Dec. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 28, 2012 at 6:02 PM

By Brad Petrishen/Daily News staff

Posted Dec. 28, 2012 at 12:01 AM
Updated Dec 28, 2012 at 6:02 PM

NORTHBOROUGH

» Social News

A Northborough man accused of running an illegal dump on Whitney Street has a history of similar offenses in other towns and has cost the state hundreds of thousands of dollars, prosecutors allege in documents recently filed in Worcester District Court.

The trial of Santo Anza Jr. began Thursday, with neighbors asked to detail exhaustively the "putrid'' odors they say they smelled.

Anza, 52, of 25 Reservoir St., is being prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office following an investigation the state said revealed that Anza ran an illegal dump on the property to the detriment of neighbors and his own animals.

Although they were not yet permitted to do so in open court, a motion filed with the court on Dec. 14 shows that the prosecution intends to argue that Anza’s actions in Northborough fit into a pattern of similar actions in other towns designed to make money importing waste by skirting the law.

"The defendant has, on three prior occasions, carried out the illegal and unpermitted disposal of solid waste under the guise of ‘farming’ or ‘composting,’" prosecutors wrote in the motion.

One of those alleged operations happened in Marlborough, prosecutors wrote, where Anza purchased property in 1999 at 582 Robin Hill Road and was told by the city he couldn’t import materials to the site without an approved site plan.

"Nevertheless, (Anza) began bringing in solid waste, including car parts, appliances, furniture and general debris, under the guise of conducting a soil processing operation," the state wrote. "(Anza) continued this activity until 2004, despite three cease and desist orders from the (city)."

In 2006, Anza entered into a contract to manage a composting facility in Jamaica Plain operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, prosecutors wrote.

"(Anza) proceeded to bring to the facility large amounts of material, to the point, in 2011, that it contained twice the amount of unprocessed compost material than the facility was designed to hold," the state wrote. "(Anza) had to be ordered to stop bringing in material, and also saddled DCR with hundreds of thousands of dollars in costs to remove what he had brought."

A similar incident occurred in Raynham in 2006, the state alleged, with the town also on the hook for the cleanup costs.

The state argued that the motive in those cases was "to avoid the considerable cost entailed in properly siting a solid waste disposal facility, while at the same time profiting richly from disposing of solid waste."

It claimed the plan was the same in Northborough.

"(Anza) represented to the town and others that he was going to operate a farm there, but in fact, as the commonwealth will demonstrate, his real scheme was to operate a dump and dispose of as much solid waste there as possible," prosecutors wrote.

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The two Assistant Attorney Generals arguing the case were not allowed to discuss their claims in court Thursday, as Judge Richard Tucker — who will decide the matter since Anza opted for a non-jury trial — agreed to hold off on determining whether the information was admissible until later in the trial.

Anza’s attorney, Mark G. Miliotis, argued against allowing the information, saying that he thought the government overstated its relevance to the present case.

Most of the trial Thursday was spent questioning three neighbors about the odors they say they smelled on the farm in the summer of 2011, the time when the state alleges Anza was operating a dump in violation of the law.

"It’s a rotting smell, almost as if you took bad meat, bad milk, poured it in a container, left it out in the sun and then put your nose in it," said Scott Stocklin of 12 Patrick Drive.

"It was a putrid smell that would disgust everybody," said Gina Babcock of 54 Coolidge Circle.

Miliotis asked the witnesses whether they were aware that one of their neighbors had been replacing a septic system that summer. He also pointed out that the area is home to a marsh and close to railroad tracks.

Babcock’s testimony will resume today. The trial is then expected to break for several weeks because some of the prosecution’s witnesses will be unavailable.

Anza is charged with 10 counts of violating the Solid Waste Act, three counts of violating the Clean Air Act and three felony animal cruelty charges.

The felony animal cruelty charges carry the longest possible sentence of up to five years in state prison, Assistant Attorney General Andrew Rainer said.

In his opening statement, Miliotis said his client hasn’t done anything illegal. As a third-generation farmer in a tough economy, Anza did realize a profit for waste imported to the site, however he was using the material legitimately to feed and house his animals, Miliotis said, and also to compost with the purpose of "vegetating" the property.

Miliotis said Anza wanted to turn the property into a thriving farm, but first had to replenish the rocky terrain, something he was in the midst of doing until being halted by the state.

Brad Petrishen can be reached at 508-490-7463 or

bpetrishen@wickedlocal.com. For news throughout the day, including updates from the trial, follow him on Twitter @Brad_Petrishen.